2023 Spring Issue - 43

ULI YOUNG LEADERS GROUP
You Belong Here
Toronto YLG founder traces her fast-track career trajectory.
KRISTY SHORTALL
For Toronto, the redevelopment of the
Downsview Airport lands represents an
unprecedented opportunity: the chance
to create a " city within a city, " a globally
recognized, mixed-use urban community
in the heart of one of the most vibrant
and diverse metropolitan areas in North
America. Best of all, it promises to be a
living, breathing model of the sustainable
vision that has so often been promised but
so rarely delivered.
For me-as senior vice president of
development at Toronto-based Northcrest
Developments, a company that was created
by the Public Sector Pension Investment
Board (PSP Investments) to oversee
the redevelopment of a decommissioned
airport site-it represents the pinnacle of
a career devoted to urban improvement
and, what's more, a career that has been
enriched by my experience with ULI.
At the risk of understatement, Downsview
is a project that will test the skills and
abilities of everyone at Northcrest: securing
approvals, engaging with stakeholders,
and undertaking construction of a project
that will take as many as three decades to
fully realize. We are working closely with
the community, rightsholders, the industry,
and nonprofit interests to ensure that
these lands become a model for sustainable,
healthy, equitable, and resilient
communities.
If you were to compare planners to
athletes, I would tell you that Downsview
is the decathlon-because there isn't just
one incredible challenge. There are many.
And, for me, it is an incredible privilege-
truly a dream job.
But the truth is that I'm not sure I
would be part of this project without ULI.
That is where my ULI story begins.
Student Beginnings
Flashback to 2005: as a master's student
working for the city of Toronto, I was
invited by my boss to join the founding
committee for the Urban Land Institute's
Toronto chapter. I immediately said, " Yes. "
Only later did I ask: " Um, what exactly
is a ULI? "
It did not take me long to figure it out,
nor to see the merits of the Institute's mission.
It was easy to grasp that one of the
key challenges in land development and
community building was the many competing
voices, perspectives, and interests.
To answer those challenges, ULI promotes
the responsible use of land and
the creation of sustainable communities.
It does so by bringing people together.
Planners and lawyers, brokers and financiers,
members of the public and private
sectors-all part of one organization, all
sharing the same goal. The focus is on
education and conversation, not on
confrontation.
The Toronto district council started off
slow as the board tried to better understand
market needs. A particular priority
jumped out at us: the relative lack of
younger people participating in the real
estate industry.
With that in mind, I launched a Greater
Toronto Area (GTA) Young Leaders Group
(YLG), a longstanding ULI affinity group
intended to create opportunities for professionals
under the age of 35 years to
develop skills and build relationships that
will help advance their careers and foster
an understanding of thoughtful development
practices.
The new Toronto YLG held professional
events and community volunteer events
and started off a mentorship program-all
of which paid off. It quickly became the
fastest-growing cohort of the district council's
membership.
ULI helped me develop a network of
colleagues and, in particular, I connected
with a group of powerhouse women in the
Kristy Shortall is in charge of securing approvals for the 370-acre (150 ha) Downsview
Airport in her role as senior vice president of development for Northcrest Developments.
She credits ULI for career support.
SPRING 2023
URBAN LAND
43
COURTESY OF HENNING LARSEN, KPMB, AND SLA
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
